Governor: No mercy for Ohio man who killed baby

COLUMBUS, Ohio 
Gov. John Kasich on Wednesday rejected a plea for mercy by a condemned man who says he intended to rape his girlfriend's 6-month-old daughter but didn't mean to kill her.

The decision by Kasich, a Republican, upheld a unanimous recommendation by the Ohio Parole Board on April 10 to deny clemency for Steven Smith, calling his crime "among the worst of the worst."

Kasich did not explain his decision as is his custom, except to note the parole board's previous decision.

The board said some arguments for sparing Smith, such as his turbulent childhood, were far outweighed by the nature of the crime.

"Smith took the life of an innocent 6-month-old infant while using the baby to sexually gratify himself," the board said. "It is hard to fathom a crime more repulsive or reprehensible in character."

Smith's crime was "clearly among the worst of the worst," the board said, echoing language that proponents of Ohio's 30-year-old capital punishment law used in pushing for the statute.

The baby, Autumn Carter, died because Smith was too drunk to realize his assault was killing her, Smith's attorneys argued in court filings with the parole board, which heard the case last week. And Ohio law is clear, they said: A death sentence requires an intent to kill the victim.

"The evidence suggests that Autumn's death was a horrible accident," Smith's attorneys, Joseph Wilhelm and Tyson Fleming, said in a written argument prepared for the board.

They continued: "Despite the shocking nature of this crime, Steve's death sentence should be commuted because genuine doubts exist whether he even committed a capital offense."

The parole board rejected that argument, saying the "ferociousness" of the attack on the baby was proof of Smith's intention to kill.

It "stretches credulity to think that Smith had no intention to kill Autumn when he assaulted her in a manner that made death a virtual certainty," the board said.

Smith's attorneys declined to comment Wednesday.

Smith, 46, was never charged with rape, meaning the jury's only choice was to convict or acquit him of aggravated murder, his attorneys say.

However, rape was included in the indictment against Smith as one of the factors making him eligible for the death penalty. Under Ohio law, an aggravated murder committed in the course of another crime - such as burglary, robbery, arson or the killing of a police officer or child - is an element that can make someone eligible for capital punishment.

The Richland County prosecutor said Smith continues to hide behind alcohol as an excuse and called Smith's actions "the purposeful murder of a helpless baby girl."

Prosecutor James Mayer told the parole board in his written statement that the girl's injuries were consistent with a homicide that contradicts Smith's claim he didn't intend to kill her.

"The horrific attack upon Autumn Carter showed much more than Smith's stated purpose," Mayer said.

Mayer said he didn't know why Smith wasn't charged with rape, but he said it wasn't part of a trial strategy.